Looking to share this information in an accessible way with other sanctuaries and supporters? Check out and share our infographic on six specific ways animal sanctuaries can make their spaces more accessible for blind and visually disabled people. Want the full resource? Check it out!
6 Ways to Make Your Animal Sanctuary More Accessible for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Folks Infographic by Andie Springirth
Click Here for a Text Description of this Infographic!
Title:Â Six Ways to Make Your Animal Sanctuary More Accessible for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Folks
Title Background: There are three orange fishesWhile "fish" is often used to refer to multiple fishes, we use "fishes" to underscore that each fish should be considered as an individual with their own needs, preferences, and abilities, rather than as a monolith consisting of thousands of different species. swimming underneath the title with bubbles above their heads.
Infographic Background: The background of this infographic is cobalt blue.
Subheader 1:Â Captions
Image:Â Graphic of the back of a person who is sitting in a chair at a desk and looking at a computer screen. The person has dark brown hair and is wearing a pink sweater. There are three whales swimming together on the computer screen. At the bottom of the screen, there are captions describing the scene.
Text Accompanying Image: Video captions are incredibly important for Deaf, hard of hearing, & DeafBlind folks, as well as speakers & readers of other languages, and visual learners.
Subheader 2:Â Sign Language Tours
Image:Â Graphic of two humans facing each other who are smiling and using sign language. They both have black hair and are wearing bright yellow t-shirts and black pants. There is a white sheep who is smiling and standing behind the two humans. There are three pink and yellow butterflies flying over top of their heads.
Text Accompanying Image: Take a look at the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf & consider how you could hire local Deaf or hard of hearing people to regularly conduct sign language tours at your sanctuary.
Subheader 3:Â Tour Scripts
Image:Â Graphic of a light green booklet with an image of a smiling pig’s face on the cover.
Text Accompanying Image: If your sanctuary is unable to conduct tours in sign language, you can provide all the information from your tours in text format so that Deaf & hard of hearing folks can follow along as you move around.
Subheader 4: Resident Name Signs
Image:Â Graphic of a light-skinned hand signing the word “love”. There is an illustration of a red heart above the hand.
Text Accompanying Image: For folks who use sign language, all people have a unique “name sign” that usually incorporates their initials. You can work with someone who uses sign language to come up with a name sign for each of your residents & open up another great opportunity for Deaf & hard of hearing folks to connect with them.
Subheader 5:Â Visual Aids
Image:Â Graphic of a white poster board with an illustration of a light brown rabbitUnless explicitly mentioned, we are referring to domesticated rabbit breeds, not wild rabbits, who may have unique needs not covered by this resource. who is standing in tufts of green grass. There are pink hearts floating around the rabbit’s body. The text on the poster board says “Penelope, her story, best friend, and favorite food”.
Text Accompanying Image: You can create laminated flip books, packets, & posters with photos of each resident or species & captions detailing their names, lives, & experiences for folks to read through at their own pace.
Subheader 6:Â Assistive Listening Systems (ALS)
Image:Â Graphic of a person with long black hair who is wearing a dark blue sweater, has headphones on, and is smiling. There is a brown table with a yellow tablecloth behind the person. There is a green speaker sitting on top of the table.
Text Accompanying Image: ALS’s are amplifiers that increase the volume of sound for folks who are hard of hearing or have difficulty hearing in certain settings where there is a lot of background noise.
Text at the Bottom of the Infographic: For more ways to make your animal sanctuary accessible for Deaf and hard of hearing folks, read the full resource on this topic on our website @ www.opensanctuary.org. Just type in “deaf accessibility” in the search bar!
Title Background: There are three orange fishesWhile "fish" is often used to refer to multiple fishes, we use "fishes" to underscore that each fish should be considered as an individual with their own needs, preferences, and abilities, rather than as a monolith consisting of thousands of different species. swimming underneath the title with bubbles above their heads.
Infographic Background: The background of this infographic is cobalt blue.
Subheader 1:Â Captions
Image:Â Graphic of the back of a person who is sitting in a chair at a desk and looking at a computer screen. The person has dark brown hair and is wearing a pink sweater. There are three whales swimming together on the computer screen. At the bottom of the screen, there are captions describing the scene.
Text Accompanying Image: Video captions are incredibly important for Deaf, hard of hearing, & DeafBlind folks, as well as speakers & readers of other languages, and visual learners.
Subheader 2:Â Sign Language Tours
Image:Â Graphic of two humans facing each other who are smiling and using sign language. They both have black hair and are wearing bright yellow t-shirts and black pants. There is a white sheep who is smiling and standing behind the two humans. There are three pink and yellow butterflies flying over top of their heads.
Text Accompanying Image: Take a look at the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf & consider how you could hire local Deaf or hard of hearing people to regularly conduct sign language tours at your sanctuary.
Subheader 3:Â Tour Scripts
Image:Â Graphic of a light green booklet with an image of a smiling pig’s face on the cover.
Text Accompanying Image: If your sanctuary is unable to conduct tours in sign language, you can provide all the information from your tours in text format so that Deaf & hard of hearing folks can follow along as you move around.
Subheader 4: Resident Name Signs
Image:Â Graphic of a light-skinned hand signing the word “love”. There is an illustration of a red heart above the hand.
Text Accompanying Image: For folks who use sign language, all people have a unique “name sign” that usually incorporates their initials. You can work with someone who uses sign language to come up with a name sign for each of your residents & open up another great opportunity for Deaf & hard of hearing folks to connect with them.
Subheader 5:Â Visual Aids
Image:Â Graphic of a white poster board with an illustration of a light brown rabbitUnless explicitly mentioned, we are referring to domesticated rabbit breeds, not wild rabbits, who may have unique needs not covered by this resource. who is standing in tufts of green grass. There are pink hearts floating around the rabbit’s body. The text on the poster board says “Penelope, her story, best friend, and favorite food”.
Text Accompanying Image: You can create laminated flip books, packets, & posters with photos of each resident or species & captions detailing their names, lives, & experiences for folks to read through at their own pace.
Subheader 6:Â Assistive Listening Systems (ALS)
Image:Â Graphic of a person with long black hair who is wearing a dark blue sweater, has headphones on, and is smiling. There is a brown table with a yellow tablecloth behind the person. There is a green speaker sitting on top of the table.
Text Accompanying Image: ALS’s are amplifiers that increase the volume of sound for folks who are hard of hearing or have difficulty hearing in certain settings where there is a lot of background noise.
Text at the Bottom of the Infographic: For more ways to make your animal sanctuary accessible for Deaf and hard of hearing folks, read the full resource on this topic on our website @ www.opensanctuary.org. Just type in “deaf accessibility” in the search bar!
